Philadelphia, PA—Leslie F. Greengard of the Simons Foundation and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University has been awarded the 2014 John von Neumann Lecture prize.

The highest honor awarded by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), the society’s flagship lecture—established in 1959 in honor of the Hungarian-American mathematician of the same name—is given to a mathematician, or a scientist in another field, who has made distinguished contributions to the field of applied mathematical sciences. Dr. Greengard will receive his award and present the associated prize lecture at the SIAM Annual Meeting to be held in Chicago next month.

The 2014 prize is awarded to Greengard in recognition of his transformative contributions to computational science. Since the 1980s, when he introduced the Fast Multipole Method, jointly with Vladimir Rokhlin, Greengard has shown the world the power of analysis-based algorithms for solving difficult computational problems of mathematical physics. He has changed our views of integral equations, particle simulations, spectral methods, fast Fourier transforms, and geometric complexity, inspiring students and colleagues at the Courant Institute and worldwide.

A professor in the department of mathematics at the Courant Institute, Greengard’s research interests are in applied and computational mathematics, partial differential equations, computational chemistry, and mathematical biology. Last year, Greengard was named Director of the Simons Center for Data Analysis. He spoke with SIAM News earlier this month regarding the center and more.

Greengard received the Leroy P. Steele Prize from the American Mathematical Society in 2001 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in 2006.

As part of the John von Neumann Lecture prize, Greengard will receive an honorarium of $5,000 and a framed, hand-calligraphed certificate at the Prizes and Awards Luncheon to be held 12:50 – 2:15 p.m., Tuesday, July 8 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Chicago as part of the SIAM Annual Meeting.

Immediately following the luncheon, he will deliver the prize lecture titled, “Fast, Accurate Tools for Physical Modeling in Complex Geometry” at the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House, the meeting’s main venue.

About SIAMThe Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an international society of over 14,000 individual members, including applied and computational mathematicians and computer scientists, as well as other scientists and engineers. Members from 85 countries are researchers, educators, students, and practitioners in industry, government, laboratories, and academia. The Society, which also includes nearly 500 academic and corporate institutional members, serves and advances the disciplines of applied mathematics and computational science by publishing a variety of books and prestigious peer-reviewed research journals, by conducting conferences, and by hosting activity groups in various areas of mathematics. SIAM provides many opportunities for students including regional sections and student chapters. Further information is available at www.siam.org.